"Hahaha, listening to your conversation, even this old sage feels more enlightened than I've been in years," Jiraiya suddenly appeared out of nowhere, smiling broadly at the two young men with obvious admiration in his eyes.
"Master? When did you get here?" Minato asked in surprise.
"Just when you said you were tired," Night answered accurately.
Jiraiya's expression turned serious as he stepped forward and patted Minato on the shoulder. "If I hadn't accidentally come by today, I would never have known about your current state of mind. As a teacher, I've failed you."
"How could that be?" Minato replied respectfully. "Being able to learn from Master Jiraiya is my greatest fortune. You've taught me so much—without your guidance, I wouldn't have come this far. In my heart, you're like a father who has always cared for me."
"You silly boy," Jiraiya said softly, visibly moved and almost tearful from Minato's heartfelt words. He quickly covered his emotion with a hearty laugh.
"I didn't actually teach you much ninjutsu," Jiraiya continued, looking affectionately at his now mature student. "Your achievements are the result of your own hard work. At best, I just provided some guidance."
"You're wrong, Master," Minato immediately countered. "Learning techniques has always been secondary for me. What you've truly imparted to me are the qualities every real ninja should possess—perseverance, ideals, and convictions. Most importantly, I've found my own Ninja Way. My path exists to protect our village and bring peace to Konoha. This is what I firmly believe in, and it's what drives me forward. Compared to these, techniques really aren't that important after all."
Jiraiya was momentarily speechless, staring at the student he had nurtured with growing pride. Finally, he laughed loudly and gave Minato a playful slap on the head. "You cheeky kid, actually arguing with your master! I'll forgive you this time. However, you missed something important—we're both total heartthrobs!"
Rubbing the back of his head where Jiraiya had playfully whacked him, Minato smiled along with his teacher.
Anya stood silently watching this scene, feeling envious of their strong mentor-disciple relationship. Unconsciously thinking of his own mentor, White Fang, though their relationship had taken a different form, the feelings seemed identical. How brilliant they might have been together during the Third Battle if only his teacher hadn't ended his own life.
"Night, come here for a moment. I need to talk to you," Jiraiya suddenly called out to the silent Anya after finishing his conversation with Minato.
"Alright," Night responded, following Jiraiya out of the stronghold building and closing the door behind him.
The two sat quietly facing each other inside the room. Anya naturally understood that Jiraiya had summoned him for an important reason, so he soon asked, "Jiraiya-sama, do you have a secret mission for me?"
"Yes," Jiraiya began appreciatively but instead of immediately assigning the mission, he asked, "How are things going between you and Tsunade now?"
"Oh."
"Anya was surprised and looked at Jiraiya, asking, 'Why do you ask this question?'
Jiraiya said with a faint smile, 'Nothing really, just plain curiosity.'
'I have nothing to say.'
Although Anya wore a mask and his expression couldn't be seen, Jiraiya was certain—he definitely had rolled his eyes right now.
'Not even the slightest detail can be revealed?' Jiraiya attempted to press further.
'No,' Anya shook his head. Changing from defense to offense, he added, 'During my time locked up, just for fun, Tsunade told me a few amusing stories—like how someone once tried spying on her while she was bathing and nearly got himself killed.'
'Uh...really?' Jiraiya's previously curious look turned bitter, and he awkwardly chuckled, 'Haha, it seems you two truly get along well; she even shared that with you. In that case, I feel relieved then.'
What exactly they felt relieved about remained unspoken between them.
After the jokes faded, Jiraiya regained his seriousness. He pulled an intelligence report from within his robes and handed it to Anya.
Anya received the document solemnly. After carefully reading it, he inhaled deeply, 'Is this information reliable?'
Jiraiya nodded, 'This intel was cross-confirmed by undercover agents Danzo embedded years ago into both sides. It's highly unlikely to be wrong.'
'Then indeed, this is an opportunity.'
Anya could feel the weight in his hands. He also understood why Orochimaru and Shinku Yuhi valued Danzo so highly. This report contained intelligence capable of determining the outcome for the Third Raikage.
The document clearly recorded the locations where Kumo ninjas had been captured—deep inside Iwagakure territory. If this news reached the Raikage, given his temperament, he'd very likely attempt a rescue himself. Furthermore, since most of Iwagakure's fighting strength was currently engaged in battling Konoha, the chance for successful rescues increased significantly.
However, if this information accidentally leaked to the Tsuchikage, letting him know the Raikage would personally enter Iwagakure's heartland to save people, it was obvious what sort of thoughts might arise.
'So, what exactly do you need me to do?' Anya didn't mind being used as a pawn in this divide-and-conquer scheme at all—especially when the target was none other than the Third Raikage. Just how troublesome that guy could be, Anya knew all too well. At least in Konoha, nobody dared claim confidently they could defeat him without a doubt.
Jiraiya explained, 'This information is already on its way. Both Kage will surely learn of it soon. From my understanding of Onoki, he certainly won't sit idle. Though precisely what actions he'll take remain unclear. Your mission is to infiltrate Iwagakure, wait for the right moment, and ideally cooperate with Iwagakure forces in ensuring the Raikage never returns.'
'Got it.' Anya reduced the intelligence report to ashes as he flatly replied, 'This task was issued by the Third Hokage, wasn't it?'
'Huh? How did you guess?' Jiraiya seemed amazed. After all, he had only just received the message himself.
'It's pretty obvious. This doesn't seem like the kind of mission you'd dream up yourself.' Anya also kept an additional thought to himself—that only the Third could've known his capabilities and potential for stealth operations.
'What?!' Jiraiya pointed at himself dramatically feigning anger, 'You actually doubt the wisdom of this mighty sage!'
After saying that, Jiraiya put away his playful expression and solemnly patted Anya on the shoulder, saying, "This is an S-rank mission — extremely dangerous. Therefore, you must be extremely careful; you must not be discovered under any circumstances."
Jiraiya invoked a small toad using the Summoning Technique, which spat out a ninja. Judging by his forehead protector, he was a ninja from Iwagakure.
"This ninja is a member of Iwagakure's bomb squad, possessing [Clay Explosion], the ability to mold bombs from clay. Along with another ninja who wields [Explosion Release], they've caused us tremendous casualties. I went through great effort to secretly capture him — originally planning to kill him directly. Now that you're here, you can disguise yourself as him and infiltrate Iwagakure."
"Fine." Anya stared at the ninja without blinking and accepted this difficult mission.
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